You and I live in the Spirit when we follow our Lord Jesus Christ. That
does not mean only when we are perfect or when somehow we manage to get
through a day without any major sins. Rather it means the following of
Jesus, which is a learning process. A follower is by definition one who
does not know the road himself but who follows another to know the way.

So today's Gospel tells us that if we are among those who labor and are
burdened, all we need to do is to come to the Lord and He will give us
rest. The rest that Jesus gives to us is a rest of knowing that we are
loved, that we are always forgiven when we ask forgiveness sincerely and
that we will share eternal life with Him if we continue to follow Him.

Accepting this kind of teaching means that we accept that there is a life
after this one and that the life after this one is, in many ways, much more
important. In one way, it is not as important as this life: we must live
this life to come to the next life. How we live this life affects the life
of the world to come, for good or for ill.

The Prophet Zechariah tells us that a Savior will come who will bring
peace. He will be a Savior who will banish war and who will lead us and
who will rule over all that is. The One whom Zechariah could only foretell
and see as in a distant future, you and I have come to know in the flesh:
Jesus Christ. He is already ruling over all, even though much of creation
may still resist Him. Jesus Christ brings an inner peace when we follow
Him faithfully.

We have the Spirit of Jesus Christ and we are invited to participate in
the Lord, not to resist the Lord. Only as we come to understand the
spiritual world and the presence of Jesus Christ will we come to understand
our own Christian Scriptures. Our Scriptures are not a volume of answers
but instead show us the road on which to walk. As we walk, we find what we
need to do. Only in being faithful to the Lord Jesus can we come to know
the results of faith.

Far too often there is a desire to have our God fix everything for us or
for others. Yet God is not a God who makes everything easy. God can make
everything right, often we are no so concerned with what is right but
with what frees us from suffering.

The Sunday of Ordinary Time has a clear teaching: follow the Lord with
faithfulness and the Lord will give you His life and His peace. It may not
be what we are looking for, but it is the only life and peace that will
endure. Let us get up then and walk in His ways.